On 21 March 2014, an outbreak of the ebola virus disease (EVD) was declared in Guinea. To date, a total of 134 cases (suspected and confirmed) and 84 deaths (fatality rate of 63%) have been reported and both caseload and the number of fatalities increase every day. The EVD is highly contagious and symptoms are normally appearing after an incubation period of 2 to 21 days.

The epicentre of the outbreak in Guinea is in the southern part of Guinea, near the town of Guéckédou close to the border to Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Since 21 March there were widespread rumours of a possible spill over of EVD to Kailahun in Sierra Leone from Gueckedou in Guinea, which is about 54 kilometres across the border.

After several consultations through the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society (SLRCS) branch health officer in Kailahun and with other stakeholders like WHO, the Office of National Security (ONS) and the Ministry of Health (MOH), it became apparent that this was not the case. Rather, the village Buedu initially thought to be in Kailahun was proved to be another in Kono district, which is also sharing a border with Guinea.

Preliminary investigations came up with the following:

• That a 14-year-old boy from that village attended a funeral ceremony in Guinea where there is an outbreak of EVD.

• The Sierra Leonean boy died of haemorrhagic fever across the border in Guinea, but his corpse was brought over to Sierra Leone for burial in Buedu, Kono district.

• All those who conducted the burial are now under surveillance by the MoH

There is high possibility that Sierra Leone could be affected by this disease since Guinea and Liberia have already reported confirmed cases and some deaths.

Against this backdrop, the government of Sierra Leone has called for intensive EVD epidemic preparedness campaign from stakeholders including the SLRCS since this is a new phenomenon in the country.

On 21 March 2014, an outbreak of the ebola virus disease (EVD) was declared in Guinea. To date, a total of 134 cases (suspected and confirmed) and 84 deaths (fatality rate of 63%) have been reported and both caseload and the number of fatalities increase every day. The EVD is highly contagious and symptoms are normally appearing after an incubation period of 2 to 21 days.

The epicentre of the outbreak in Guinea is in the southern part of Guinea, near the town of Guéckédou close to the border to Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Since 21 March there were widespread rumours of a possible spill over of EVD to Kailahun in Sierra Leone from Gueckedou in Guinea, which is about 54 kilometres across the border.

After several consultations through the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society (SLRCS) branch health officer in Kailahun and with other stakeholders like WHO, the Office of National Security (ONS) and the Ministry of Health (MOH), it became apparent that this was not the case. Rather, the village Buedu initially thought to be in Kailahun was proved to be another in Kono district, which is also sharing a border with Guinea.

Preliminary investigations came up with the following:

• That a 14-year-old boy from that village attended a funeral ceremony in Guinea where there is an outbreak of EVD.

• The Sierra Leonean boy died of haemorrhagic fever across the border in Guinea, but his corpse was brought over to Sierra Leone for burial in Buedu, Kono district.

• All those who conducted the burial are now under surveillance by the MoH

There is high possibility that Sierra Leone could be affected by this disease since Guinea and Liberia have already reported confirmed cases and some deaths.

Against this backdrop, the government of Sierra Leone has called for intensive EVD epidemic preparedness campaign from stakeholders including the SLRCS since this is a new phenomenon in the country.